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When I tell people that I want to buy property in Ukraine and move there as soon as the war is over, they look at me with a strange expression, as if they are unsure of the polite way to tell me that I have completely lost my marbles. Then I show them the photographs!
When I did my PDC in 2020, one of the things that struck me was that existing structures on a property can be more of a hindrance than a help, especially if their design is all wrong for the climate, or simply not practical! It would therefore be much better to buy an undeveloped piece of land, with all the right attributes, and build the house myself.
However, as a foreigner, I can’t buy undeveloped land in Ukraine. What I would need to do, therefore, is to find a piece of land that suits my needs perfectly, but with a disaster of a house on it. Then I can demolish that structure and build something better suited to my needs. Makes perfect sense to me. But I am a Permaculturalist.
When I looked at this property, I did not even consider the buildings. Yes, they are literally rotting apart, but that is nothing that can’t be remedied by one pass of a chainsaw.
Instead, I saw the land itself, with established trees in all the right places, and the perfect location. It’s flat but with a very slight gradient to one side where water can be channeled to. It’s walking distance from a train station, which means that I can rely on public transport for most of my needs, as opposed to having to drive. The environment is very, very quiet with hectares of ancient forest all around. The advert even mentions being able to pick berries and mushrooms in season.
I have the benefit of modern technology on my side and Geolocated the site. From there, it was easy to research things like sun angles and seasonal temperature variations. The bad news is that winters there will be cold and dark. The good news is that I can rebuild my house with that in mind!
At the moment, I can see two structures on the property. (There may be a root cellar, a privy, and also a well!) The current house is sited all wrong, but the barn is built perfectly! What I plan to do is to swap the functions of the two buildings, putting a new house on the barn foundations and vice versa. It won’t have an impact on the roof coverage of the property so shouldn’t upset the site plan! If needs be, I can always just register the new plans properly. It’s the same foundation, too!
I have never built a wood-frame house in my life! That said, I have watched countless YouTube videos of people doing exactly that from various levels of experience. And I am sure that there is the same number of people who have – in the decades before the Internet – built a house with a book in one hand and a hammer in the other. I’m not pretending that it would be a cakewalk and I shall be making many mistakes in the process, but it will also make for some decent YouTube footage of my own! And – most importantly – I shall be learning and teaching a valuable skill to others – how to build a decent shelter.
I’ll do it in three parts. The first will be to put up a small shack where the cat(s) and I can stay. I already have the plans for it and it looks simple enough for a beginner to attempt. I plan to use a composting toilet so there won’t be much of a hassle with blackwater plumbing. That will be my “Walden house” for the first year while I observe the effects of the changing seasons on the land (very Permaculturally!) and plan the reconstruction. It won’t go to waste – I plan to use it as my writers’ studio! – so I shall take great care in putting it somewhere on the property where it can help fuel my creative processes. My main goal with the small cottage is to learn the basic principles of building, plumbing, heating, and electrical installations. Those are extremely important skills in my view as they are survival skills.
As for backyard farming, the details have to be determined through observation. I’ll see what my neighbors are doing and work out what works for me and what doesn’t, hopefully without too much loss of life. The method behind the year of observation is to establish a seasonal rhythm for me on the property. Nature knows what she’s doing – I need the time to learn from her!
And don’t tell the gurus, but I suspect the year of observation is also to give me time to detox properly from modern life and get my mind reset to the basics. It doesn’t mean that I need to forgo modern conveniences, but now I can use them to help me do things that actually enrich my life, not merely save time.
What few people know about me, is that I use handicrafts as a way to channel stress. Many of my cross-stitch projects were completed during exam season and I built a bed during the Covid-19 lockdown. By keeping my hands busy, I can keep my thoughts straight and my soul calm. That is very important to me. Even just writing about the possibilities of this project helps to channel my thoughts in a positive way.
I guess here’s as good a place as any to insert the caveat: I haven’t purchased the place yet. In fact, I haven’t even made an offer! I am waiting until this coming Friday to see how much I get as a return for my (overpaid) taxes and then I shall give the formal order to my attorney in Kyiv to make an offer. I should easily be able to afford the full price (with all the fees included) by the end of August and that means that my birthday present to myself in 2022 will be a rescue property in Zhytomyr, bought on the strength of three pictures and a train schedule.
This post started as a way to explain the method in my madness to my people, but for some reason, it has also helped me crystallize my thinking. I have actually found my why. Do you understand it now, too? If you do, please click HERE to throw a few coins towards my projects. There are no small donations, and I shall be grateful for every penny.
